The early UK Golfs didn't have reversing/backup lights. Putting the Rabbit/Golf badge on the left followed a trend at the time of naming cars by their model name first, such as "Vega by Chevrolet".

@SeanBZA

3 жыл бұрын

The early ones also had a reverse switch from an automatic gearboxes on them, even on the manual box, that had a reverse switch and a (non used) park interlock for the starter. Makes that gearbox a hard item to service, as that switch is a common failing point.

We had one of those when I was little. It was the first brand new car my dad ever bought. The year was 1974. It was the basic edition and had, as standard, no radio, no rear fog light, no clock and no brake servo. 😁 It was frog green. Sadly I don't remember what engine was in it. But I do remember my dad bragging to a friend that it did nearly 160 km/h when going downhill with a stiff breeze in your back. He sold it five years later and I remember distinctly him sanding and painting it in the drive, as it was full of rust. Those early Golfs were made from Eastern European or Russian steel and it must have had rust from the factory, but then again, it was the 70's. Cars rusted. It was a massive improvement in the Simca 1100 we had before that.

@JamieOrr

3 жыл бұрын

Fantastic! It was probably Lofoten Green, which is one of my favourites! Very cool on the Simca too!

@jfv65

3 жыл бұрын

Not only the Golf, cars like the Alfa Sud and some Peugeot models as well. At that time there was a pretty severe supply crisis of steel. Hence the import of Soviet steel. Sad thing was that this steel was not very pure and probably had rust incorporated in de sheetmetal. That's why lots of 70's euro cars rust like a mofo.

@petergonzalez3018

3 жыл бұрын

@@JamieOrr if it was a frog green I’m going with rallye/cliff green 😉

I had a 1979 VW diesel rabbit we brought over from Greece . We ordered it from Boston and picked it up in Paris and drove all the way toGreece and then here in Massachusetts. We put on over 200,000 miles on her . The shock towers rusted so we got rid of her . In my opinion it was the finest automobile. Diesel is the way to go if you want your car to last

@JamieOrr

3 жыл бұрын

That is SO cool! Thank you for sharing!!

A kid at my school didn’t let me buy his swallowtail then a few months later he proceeded to junk it without telling anyone

@NoDautMK1

3 жыл бұрын

Damn kid

@honestguy7764

3 жыл бұрын

We all know pretty well a kid like thar

@pointerstep

3 жыл бұрын

Save all the mk1's! scraping a mk1 should be a crime!

@kilovwdude6457

3 жыл бұрын

that's genuinely pisses me off

@possibleproblem479

3 жыл бұрын

probably something embarrassing in it that he didn't want people finding

This car is so cool, so many rare, quirky and weird parts. I love it. Thanks Jamie, Ralph and SoloWerks, you guys rock!!!!

I’m a die hard VW fan but did not know all the specifics of the early mk1 cars but the most surprising to me was the front drum brakes so from what year to what they had front drums?

Great video Jamie. Love seeing a proper VW geek making great videos. I had a few swallowtails as parts cars and it’s great to see someone appreciating the small details. Ours (Australian) are different to American ones on a few points too and it’s interesting to see those little differences.

I CANT WAIT TO FOLLOW THIS UP! i just got my first car wish is a MK1 rabbit!, i really want to see where you go with this, so i take notes and see what do i wanna do to my mk1, taking notes from this new series, THIS NEW SERIES IS WHAT I NEED!

Thank you Jamie, and thank you Solo-Werks - just ordered a set for my son's mk4 :)

Love the details you go into, always great to see so much pasion.

Great overview! I was pretty educated as I didnt know some of the specifics which you mentioned. Pretty excited for more content on this one!!

Jaime, I love these episodes. The research and history-the nerdy quality-and the story telling are amazing. I really look forward to them. Please do a history of the VW Wagen. From the Squareback to my baby-the Alltrack. Also, would love an episode where you hit the junkyard again and go looking for treasures...especially wheels.

Thanks Jamie that was very informative and love the energy as usual.

Great vídeo Jamie! A lot of details I didn't know about the swallowtail

Looking forward to see where this is going! Way to go Jamie!

I have also a VW Golf "Mark Wan". My Golf is from 1982 with the 1.5L engine. My car is also in red but has the big rear lights.

I learn so much regarding the history and even the new model Volkswagen's from Jamie! Great video 👍

My wife has always had vw vehicles and I had never had one till recently she bought a Tiguan se r line. I fell in love and bought me one as well with the 4 motion and am very happy.

Awesome car. Just sold my mk1. Not an early one like this. Will be following this build

Awesome car!! Can’t wait to see this thing running🙌🏻

I knew about the rear end oddities, but I had no idea on the hood/ sheet metal stuff!! Awesome!

I love these nerdy videos, this car is so sick, looking forward to seeing the build

Citroen GS was not a hatchback but was made into one in 1979...along time after the Golf Mk1 came out

Love this project jamie can’t wait to see more updates:)

My base model, 10/77 rabbit had a swallowtail hatch and defrosterless glass, brake lines run through the car, no knee bar. no radio, just a blanking panel. Very cool car.Lots of early parts.

Thank for the info! I've been into VWs for 30 years, mostly air cooleds but am now fixing up a Mk2 Jetta. I always wondered where the swallowtail nickname came from. It's a pretty neat car! I hope it gets a nice proper restoration.

@JamieOrr

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Have fun with your Mk2 project!!

I am 56 years old. My 1st car bought used at age 16 in 1982 was a 1973 super beetle auto stick and second car was a very clean 1975 VW rabbit 2dr in orange. It had a dash pad and clock, 4spd man trans 1.5 4cyl. It was so fun. I put on an after market 2bbl weber carburetor, bosch points-plugs-wires, headers, ansa exhaust, etc. 20560R13 Goodyears on wide steel rims. I ran that car for a few years and then purchased a 1977 VW scirocco. I put in a donor built 1.6 with head work, camshaft, headers, single sidedraft carburetor, lowered, etc. Fun times. You could buy these cars for $300-$1,000 all day long in great used condition to near mint.

Watching your videos from South Africa 🇿🇦 awesome videos and the best automotive history on the VW’s...

Great video. I'm pretty sure the 'swallowtail' curves were there to incorporate the European-style rectangular number plates.

I thought you were going to forget about the drum brake set up. The first shop I worked in New Holland PA and they had a warehouse full of early MK1 parts. I remember the drum brakes on the early. My favorite rabbit was the 77 model year. It had the 1.6 K-Jet. We had a 77 with the 4-sp. I loved to trash it back and forth to work while I was building a 16V Golf with the Zender body kit. That was way back in 1989. Good times!

As a mk1 nerd this made me geek out so much... the variations you can get in mk1s around the world is insane... on the citi the rear pillar has an L in it where all other mk1s around the world are smooth

Very nice car ...im a rabbit fan too got a 2door 1983 golf GT mk1...so I definitely have a soft spot for these cars...cant wait to see what plans you have in store for it...wishing u best of luck with the build

liked and subscribed. This is the level of enthusiasm and nerdiness I need...

Those teal wheels are awesome. Would love to find a set of those! Can't wait to see how this turns out!

Greetings from Germany and Dankeschön für das Video . Have Fun with your project and good luck ^^

Something that you may not know is that the first generation Volkswagen Golf was produced (not only assembled) in Mexico under the name of Volkswagen Caribe between 1977 and 1987. Logically, there were no mexican swallowtails, but actually, the Volkswagen Caribe, together with the classic Beetle and Bus are some of the most iconic cars south of the border.

Awesome cant wait for build !! I had a 74 yellow rabbit in 1993 in high school i bought for $250 bucks. Fixed and cleaned it drove it for 6 months and sold it for $550. Which i put towards my 83 gti black with red interior which i picked up for $1100 .. Wish i had both today . would love to build an OEM plus 74-77 rabbit with some euro golf gti theme and a 2.0 16v .

My first VW was a 1977 no automatic seatbelts.... second one 77 with deluxe interior.... no auto seat belts..... my 3rd was a Westmoreland diesel.... that one had the door mounted seat belts I really liked my sciroccos best from the mk1 era

Great video! didn't realise the swallowtails had all these rare things

This Golf reminds me of the "Gol BX", witch is a really interesting car, it is worth knowing it and it's curious engine it had on it's early days of development too.

Wow, this was fascinating!! Currently modding my mk5 rabbit & it was so cool to learn about its early ancestors :)

@JamieOrr

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it!!

@Blakelikesfood

3 жыл бұрын

@@JamieOrr Greetings, I'm in need of a couple things how can I reach out? Email? I can hand over my email if needed.

From Providence, Rhode Island-never had a V-dub of any kind or any "foreign car" for that matter, but can totally appreciate the nerd factor-rock on-looking forward to the video evolution-Peace!

Great stuff Jamie. I drove one of these when I was stationed in Germany in the army, I loved it. Looking forward to watching the transformation. Thanks for sharing, (New Sub) 🇬🇧🇺🇸

Thanks for this very interessting video of the MK 1. Please keep it as much as possible original.

I owned 14 of them at the time from 1975 swallow tails to 1984 GTI's...loved those cars and they were everywhere! used to buy them for between $100 to $600 bucks in good running condition...Used them to deliver pizza in and also used to Ice race them professionaly in winter on circuit tracks!, nothing could beat them! perfectly balanced on the ice..typically in the top 10 of every race there would be 6 to 8 Rabbits!

Excellent video!IMO one of the best cars ever made!We used to own 2 Golfs like this.A white 5-door model made in 1976 and a lofoten green 3-door model made in 1975.The lofoten green had the swallowtail like the one in the video.Fortunately for us,we didn't deal with rust problems as many owners did.Maybe we were lucky.By the way,when swallowtail was withdrawn?Early 1976?Because our green made in summer 1975 had a swallowtail whilst our white made in 1976(i don't remember month)hadnt.So I believe that only 1974,1975 and very early 1976 models had this "feature".

This has been always my favourite

😍 such awesome info, We gotta find all the swallowtails and do a registry.

Interesting! I had several of these Golfs in my youth. The latest was a 1982 GTI. Loved them. Now they are almost impossible to find and the ones that are out there are priced very high.

The upper part of the early rear hatch is different. The seatbelts do less injury, that was the reason for the invention. The later hood was more rigid and less prone to dents in the middle. The knee bar is part of the 2 point belts restraint system. The seatbelts were available as an option in europe. - - Good job recovering it. Nice video.

Also took a diesel Rabbit with over 400,000 kms on the clock that I bought here for $50 to California and back with no issues!

Epic detail of an epic car... thanks

Very interesting pointers... Still got a love for mk1 golf have a few in my time. Small tail light models are becoming scarce here in sunny🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦

@Noneedforhandlesanymore

3 жыл бұрын

They are out there in the boonies I've seen them when i was living there...

Enjoying these vids keep em coming jamie 🙂

@JamieOrr

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!

my 1979 rabbit have brake lines running through the inside. great video

My boss had one in 76. I drove it a couple times. Long gone to the scrap yard in Detroit

Really enjoyed this video 👍🏻

@JamieOrr

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Love the swallowtail. My dad had a 76 silver 5 door auto with scirocco 1.6gt engine in it. Lovely car sadly written off in the 80s by a Austin maestro eek. I later had a 79 gti loved the seat belts no clip on the belt. Your single headlamp chrome grill is also quite rare tho not swallowtail specific.

Love these videos!!! More Geeky info please!!!!

My Mum in New Zealand had a green MK1. It was ex England. No glove box. 1.1 engine. Swallow tail. Hood stay bar. Beetle gear knob. Basic car but sound. I fitted a Golf sport rear muffler; that alone released a bit more torque and power.

in my neighbourhood here in germany in the 90s a old man had a 83 Pirelli GTI in original condition he wont to sell it for 1500 DM i was too young no money and the car lands in bad hands bad tuning another owner change and he wrecked it. this was so sad for me :( !! here in europe this swallowtails and other early Golf 1 are very hard to find. sorry for my bad english

Can't wait for the build💪😁🇿🇦

Intersting,I never knew about the swallowtail detail differences!

love this early model like the door sound

VW were the air cooled rear engine guys, we only got the Golf because of the AUDI hook-up by VW. Then the Giugiaro magic of 1970s was done on it. Golf, call it a Giugiaro Audi. The Golf Mk1 is the nicest design, Mk2 went flabby and they grew in size from there.

Rare MK 1 Golf looks sound this one in the UK there will nothing left of this car in our English climate same age as me this car 46 years old good luck restoring this car Jamie

Cigarette lighter is different to and the seam on the seat are on the other side! Great vidéo 👍👍👍👍👍

8:52 Hallo! Danke für this video about the VW Golf Mk1! With best regards! An owner of a VW Golf Mk7 1.4 TSI (150 hp) from Germany. :-)

@JamieOrr

3 жыл бұрын

Vielen Dank!

cant wait for this build

I do love the box shape of the MK1.

Knowledge!! Love this 👌🏻🇬🇧

@JamieOrr

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you!!

The thing I love most about the Golf is their rival - the Opel Astra/Kadett is brilliant.

FWIW the seats were special also being horsehair and the rear seat had mounts that latched onto removable latches on the car

Nice video dude I have 1976 mk1 1500 diesel and love it, first owner is my grandfather :D.

@JamieOrr

3 жыл бұрын

That's SO cool!! Thanks :-)

Will look nice with the gepfeffert. Greetings from Germany ✌️

That hood makes me sad, but otherwise a beautiful car, excited to see it loved. Do you have a video on that Alltrack in the background? I would very much like to see more of it.

When I was 15 back in the early 90s I had a 1975 orange rabbit just like that one. The paint was Immaculate but the interior was beginning to crack but was in decent condition. I had the best stereo system in the back. You could hear me coming from three blocks away. One thing that you want to check on these first type 1 bodies is the floor pan right where the wishbone connect to the body on the driver side. They will to crack if you don't catch it early. This can be hell trying to repair. Ask me how I know. 🤣 Usually a stress bar that connects both wishbones prevents this from ever happening so I recommend you get a stress bar. I believe 76 and newer have been reinforced from the factory. So this would be an issue on newer type 1 bodies.

As far as the signature rear panel goes, there were two different stamps of that panel. A more smooth one and a more pronounced sharper stamping. My Delft Blau 75 swallowtail, 11/74 had drum brakes in the front. Extremely bare bones Rabbit.

Awesome, yet they were everywhere when I was a kid. I owned a 75 in the UK many many moons ago then had seven more mk1's. Today down to just one 1983 GX...cool as!

I Could be wrong, but I think we got the 20v 1.8 NA engine over here in Mexico, on the MK1 Seat Leon

thanks for the video, I'm converting my '84 diesel to electric

I’ve had a few parts off early mk1’s including the metal badges and dashes etc but I thought swallow tails had the rear lights with no white reverse? I’ve got a couple of sets of red rear lights at the moment 👍🏻

I might have subconsciously see the swallow tail design but never really paid attention to that. Crazy how sought after those are. I guess because they're more rare, that makes them more valuable. Everyone always wants something they can't get, or that's hard to get. And, I think the swallow tail design looks better than the straight line.

Even more rare .. Here in the UK ..we had the very first mk1 Golfs.. with no reverse light on the rear light clusters.. just the indicator / red brake/backlight and rear reflector..Saw one many many years go - 1974 registered model in yellow .

Hi Jamie, the guards are a slightly different in the front edges the bonnets changed (added lip ) for aero apparently , yours has a later steering wheel I have a German imported LHD converted to RHD here many years ago rusting away now they have a different bonnet release (catch lever protrudes through grille) the dash should be just a speedo cluster no tacho with open glovebox ( no lid) euro spec tail lights have no reverse lights with red indicators , the front panel has single vent hole on one side laters had doubles Cheers George 🙏✊🕺

My daddy owned the Golf MK1 as his first car

I owned a 75 Rabbit and it was the same color. It was my first car and I paid $2500 for it in 1979.

@JamieOrr

3 жыл бұрын

Amazing!!

hello jamie congratulations on that rare VW golf. Here in Portugal we have some at clubgolfportugal. I have a mk1 GTI from 1982 in this photo and a cabriolet from 1982. They are my passion Embrace of Portugal 🇵🇹

@JamieOrr

3 жыл бұрын

Obrigado! I did a Instagram Live interview with CDG PT :-)

Will you hook the original diagnostic port up to the new motor? Plastic early euro dash swap? Does it have the rubber mats instead or carpet?

The doors sound so satisfying😍

@JamieOrr

3 жыл бұрын

Yes !!

@apexseal2811

3 жыл бұрын

Sion Klein Econo car, yet still German-engineered.

@emjayay

3 жыл бұрын

If you like cheap and thin. Not having the door card on it makes it worse. Sort of copycat Horizons were always more substantial feeling and sounding.

Love that color.

I drive a 1973 rhd VW k70 and it's funny to see some simularities with this MK1 rabbit

good clip, first time I see real differences swallowtail. Greetings from Bosnia, here in Sarajevo there was a golf factory a long time ago :)

@Noneedforhandlesanymore

3 жыл бұрын

So maybe there is still parts hiding away somewhere around that factory

@JohnnyANTITALENT

3 жыл бұрын

@@Noneedforhandlesanymore jes there is, but mostly parts of golf 2, but if you search hardy, you can find a lot of parts for golf 1 :) greetings

@JohnnyANTITALENT

3 жыл бұрын

@@Noneedforhandlesanymore kzread.info/dash/bejne/nYigy8yGkq-9fKQ.html&ab_channel=ZlatanAutoKult

The door mounted shoulder harness and the knee bar must have been a VW workaround. Similar to the "mouse track" belts in early 90's to avoid airbags. 1974 was the first ( and only) year of the seat belt interlock. There was a switch/relay that wouldn't allow the car to crank ( or start) unless the driver's seat belt was fastened. A lot of people would fasten the belt before they sat down and would just sit on the belt. A system so throughly hated that Congress removed the interlock for 1975. Despite what our Serbian friend says, I'd bet this was a German built car, ASIK, all US market VWs were built in Germany until the Westmoreland plant opened and Beetle production moved to Mexico. Source- I worked in the parts department of a VW dealer in 74-75. It would also be highly unusual to get production from what we in the US considered the Iron Curtain. Even if Yugoslavia didn't fit the Soviet mold. I do find it interesting that you've chosen to add a 20V motor and improve the suspension but fit front drum brakes. Not the usual route.

😬👍 very interesting difference's in the early model's

i own a 76, great to see

@JamieOrr

3 жыл бұрын

Very cool, and thanks!

I had Golf gti 1.6, 4 speed 1979 mk1 in mars red...wish I had it today

Kein Dinge Mann, Danke für das Video und die Infos 😆

Something I learned from this - the old AMT Rabbit model kit (not the reissue which is from the Esci tool) has a swallowtail-style smooth leading edge hood but is otherwise a 1977-78 fuel injected car.

I Kant believe I missed out on this beauty I live in Reno 😢